In Conversation with.. Marbs, Desert Hearts co-founder

Having grown up in Southern California with the now notoriously known motley crew called Desert Hearts, Marbs, an artistic kid, was primarily influenced by legends like Pink Floyd and Tool. While also listening to underground hip hop, reggae, and rock, displaying his no holds barred love for all genres from an early age. Flash forward to San Francisco’s Love Fest, art cars roaming the city, house music spilling from speakers, and Marbs’ musical tastes were forever changed thanks to the ruler of the house music game and party guru, Lee Burridge.

After years of djing the San Diego, LA, and Burning Man party circuits, the Desert Hearts crew took it upon themselves to throw their own kind of party. One built on love, acceptance, and strictly, House and Techno, their 2012 one time gathering of 200 people in the Mojave (the coldest one ever, we swear!!) has turned into one of the most talked-about and adored boutique festivals in the US. None of which could be possible without Marbs, lovingly coined, “Papa Bear”, he is truly the backbone of the project behind the scenes, where he runs most of the logistics with a steady hand and a humble heart. He’s easily one of the nicest guys on the planet and is the most modest of the crew, which is insane given his endless barrage of talents beyond his musical endeavours. While Desert Hearts catapults successfully into the scene as a major player through their twice-yearly festival, touring internationally throwing parties under the moniker City Hearts, and launching a (free!) record label, Marbs continues to hone his production skills and also blows the art game out of the water, hand-drawing all of the label’s artwork and inspiring tattoo artists everywhere.

Marbs’ musical talents and humble DJ presence command any dance floor with his sounds of mystical darkness and whimsical tribal rhythms; the night sky is the limit for this King of Darkness. With a sound like no other, a heart of gold, and a determination matched by few, Marbs is sure to lead this movement of love until the very happy end.

Marbs has reached a new peak in his career over the past year, which culminated in him launching Desert Hearts subsidiary, Desert Hearts Black, with Evan Casey. The heavier, melodic-leaning imprint and club series launch was a smashing success, with its debut EP Torus reaching Beatport’s Overall #1 spot and its inaugural warehouse party selling out. Tim Engelhardt, Thugfucker, and Dance Spirit are just a few of its first signees. 

Today, he joins me on the BOOST Podcast. We chatted about Desert Hearts, Music, Live Streaming, Community and more.  You can listen below or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcast and more via Anchor.